Capsule reviews for May 24

Before Midnight

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy return, along with director Richard Linklater, for the presumed final chapter in a relationship trilogy and European travelogue that began with Before Sunrise (1995) and continued with Before Sunset (2004). In this installment, we catch up with Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) in Greece, where they are now nearing middle age and their lives have changed for better and worse. As they reminisce and reconnect, their conversation feels authentic as they find universal truths about love. The series has gotten gradually better as it’s gone along, with the stars developing a genuine rapport that helps to eliminate any hint of self-indulgence. (Rated R, 109 minutes).

Stories We Tell

This bold and provocative cinematic experiment from Canadian actor-director Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz) is part documentary and part memoir, telling the story of her own family including a secret that her late mother took to the grave. Polley interviews her family and acquaintances with remarkable candor and intimacy, perhaps as a method of catharsis, but it never feels like a vanity project or a simple airing of dirty laundry. Instead, although it tends to ramble, the riveting story unspools as a mystery of sorts. This examination of memory and mythology offers evidence supporting Polley’s thesis – that any family has a story worth telling. (Rated PG-13, 108 minutes).

We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

The latest documentary from Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) is an insightful probe into the rise and fall of the titular website, which was responsible for one of the largest security breaches in American military history. The film explores the humble beginnings and growth of the site, and also casts a critical eye on its idealistic founder, Julian Assange, whose fascinating downfall is detailed with even-handed scrutiny. With an approach that feels like a thriller, Gibney looks at both sides of the debate over the site’s purpose and effectiveness while also exploring contemporary government concealment tactics and Assange’s misguided quest for fame. (Rated R, 130 minutes).